A gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a display screen comprised of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a plurality of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from a plurality of columns; automatically and randomly selecting a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly applying the selected multiplier value to a limited number of paylines to create one or more selected multiplier paylines; and displaying the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline(s) to the user on the display screen.
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1. A slot machine comprising:
(a) a display device;
(b) an input device;
(c) a processor; and
(d) a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to:
(i) provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns;
(ii) provide a plurality of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from each of a plurality of columns on the display screen;
(iii) automatically and randomly select a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values using an electronic random number generator;
(iv) automatically and randomly apply the selected multiplier value at game start to one and only one payline to create a selected multiplier payline, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and
(v) display the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline to the user on the display screen.
2. The slot machine of
3. The slot machine of
4. The slot machine of
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of gaming and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for gaming that enhances the player experience by automatically and randomly selecting a multiplier and automatically and randomly applying the multiplier to a single payline—or up to no more than ten percent (10%) of the total number of paylines—among a plurality of paylines at the start of each game. All paylines are created equal. The paylines are pre-defined by the system, and each payline has the same odds of occurrence (payouts/wins) and functionality as the other paylines. No user input is required for selection of the multiplier or selection of the payline(s) to which the multiplier is applied.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gaming machine manufacturers are currently challenged with creating anticipation and excitement for the player with their gambling features. Many of the current popular gambling machines have a matrix of symbols with multiple paylines or combinations of ways to win with some sort of bonus feature as the main event that increases the odds of winning for the player during that mode. During the bonus mode, the game likely has increased odds to bigger awards and a higher payback percentage to the player, as well as additional game features that create more excitement. These additional game features may or may not include variations on the main game. For example, bonus features that would be considered variations on the main game include award multipliers, increased odds of getting wilds or other valuable symbols, and free games. One example of a bonus feature that would not be considered a variation on the main game is providing a series of “pick” screens where the player picks an object from several objects, and an award value is given. Another example of a bonus feature that would not be considered a variation on the main game is allowing the player to trigger a spin of a wheel with prizes on each segment and awarding the player the value of the segment to which the wheel indicator points when it stops spinning. The present invention would be considered a bonus-type feature that is ongoing (continuous) in the main game.
Many of the popular mainstream gaming machines have multiple paylines (ways to win) with the bet being spread over these many paylines. Because the bet is spread over these multiple ways to win, any one payline win may not result in a very meaningful award. It is fairly typical for a lot of games to be played and money lost (by the player) during the non-bonus mode. As a result, the challenge to gaming manufacturers is to design a game that maintains the player's attention during the base/main game by providing the perception that awards mat are more frequent and/or more attainable. The present invention ensures that the player continues to be entertained during the main game due to the constant anticipation of hitting a multiplier payline with a relatively generous payout.
The present invention creates anticipation at game start because the player knows that a multiplier will be applied in every game and that this multiplier may be relatively large (e.g., 25×). This makes the player feel that there is potential for a meaningful award on a single payline in every game played in a multi-payline game. The present invention makes the multiplier value and multiplier payline clear to the player at game start, which makes it easy for the player to identify the conditions that will lead to enhanced winnings. Because the multiplier is applied to a relatively small percentage of the total number of paylines (preferably, no more than ten percent (10%)), the gaming manufacturer can offer a large range of multipliers (for example, from 4× to 25×). The fact that the paylines are pre-defined by the system and that all paylines are created equal (i.e., each payline has the same odds of occurrence (payouts/wins) and functionality as the other paylines) also increases player trust.
There are a number of multiplier-type gaming methods, none of which both dynamically selects the multiplier and applies it to a dynamically selected and pre-defined payline (or a limited number of pre-defined paylines) at the start of the game. These include U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,124 (Baerlocher et al., 2001) (applying enhancements to certain reel symbols or their backgrounds); U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,254 (Baerlocher et al., 2003) (applying enhancements to certain symbols or their backgrounds); U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,356 (Baerlocher et al., 2004); U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,360 (Marks et al., 2005) (displaying an active border that at least partially surrounds a game matrix and is configured to randomly select and display game and payline multipliers); U.S. Pat. No. 7,349,073 (Thomas et al., 2010) (allowing players to select paylines to define active paylines; allowing players to activate enhanced paylines; randomly selecting a game outcome in response to a wager input and displaying the game outcome as symbols aligned along the active paylines and the enhanced payline); U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,616 (Moody, 2012) (assigning a randomly selected multiplier to activated paylines); U.S. Pat. No. 8,177,622 (Englman, 2012) (in response to a winning outcome, awarding a player a winning award, modifying the background of a cell associated with the winning outcome, and causing an alteration in the wagering game upon modification of the background); U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,938 (Gilmore et al., 2012) (invoking a win multiplier feature when a displayed combination yields a predetermined award and meets a predetermined criterion).
It is an object of the present invention to create the perception in the mind of the player that a meaningful award can be applied and that meaningful awards are attainable during every game play. It is another object of the present invention to introduce a greater degree of unpredictability (and, therefore, excitement) into the game by providing a large range of multipliers (which can only be done if the multipliers are applied to no more than a limited number of paylines). It is yet another object of the present invention to display a dynamic (i.e., automatically and randomly selected) multiplier on the screen at game start and to visually connect that multiplier to a specific “multiplier” payline that is also dynamically selected from among all of the available paylines.
The present invention is a gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a gaming machine with a display screen, wherein the display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a plurality of paylines, wherein each payline comprises one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly selecting a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly applying the selected multiplier value at game start to a single payline to create a selected multiplier payline, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and displaying the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline to the user on the display screen. In a preferred embodiment, the selected multiplier payline is highlighted with a border around the cells that comprise the selected multiplier payline. Preferably, the selected multiplier value is displayed in the left-most cell of the selected multiplier payline.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a gaming machine with a display screen, wherein the display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a given number of paylines, wherein each payline comprises one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly selecting a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly applying the selected multiplier value at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and displaying the multiplier value and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen. In a preferred embodiment, the selected multiplier payline is highlighted with a border around the cells that comprise the selected multiplier payline. Preferably, the selected multiplier value is displayed in the left-most cell of the selected multiplier payline.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a gaming machine with a display screen, wherein the display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a plurality of paylines, wherein each payline comprises one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly applying a multiplier value at game start to a single payline to create a selected multiplier payline, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and displaying the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline to the user on the display screen.
In another alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a gaming machine with a display screen, wherein the display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a given number of paylines, wherein each payline comprises one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly applying a multiplier value at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically quality for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and displaying the multiplier value and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen.
In another alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming method for adding a bonus feature to a main game comprising: providing a gaming machine with a display screen, wherein the display screen is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; providing a given number of paylines, wherein each payline comprises one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly selecting at least two multiplier values from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly applying the selected multiplier values at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and displaying the multiplier values and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen.
In a preferred embodiment, the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start. In another preferred embodiment, the multiplier value and the selected multiplier paylines are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start. In yet another preferred embodiment, the multiplier values and the selected multiplier paylines are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start.
The present invention is also a gaming apparatus comprising: a display device; an input device; a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to: provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; provide a plurality of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly select a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly apply the selected multiplier value at game start to a single payline to create a selected multiplier payline, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and display the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline to the user on the display screen. In a preferred embodiment, the selected multiplier payline is highlighted with a border around the cells that comprise the selected multiplier payline. Preferably, the selected multiplier value is displayed in the left-most cell of the selected multiplier payline.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming apparatus comprising: a display device; an input device; a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to: provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; provide a given number of paylines, each payline comprising one ceil from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly select a multiplier value from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly apply the selected multiplier value at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and display the multiplier value and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen. In a preferred embodiment, the selected multiplier payline is highlighted with a border around the cells that comprise the selected multiplier payline. Preferably, the selected multiplier value is displayed in the left-most cell of the selected multiplier payline.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming apparatus comprising: a display device; an input device; a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to: provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; provide a plurality of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly apply a multiplier value at game start to a single payline to create a selected multiplier payline, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines automatically qualify tor multiplier status, wherein all of the paylines in the plurality of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and display the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline to the user on the display screen.
In another alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming apparatus comprising: a display device; an input device; a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to: provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; provide a given number of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly apply a multiplier value at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines are automatically activated in the main game; and display the multiplier value and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen.
In another alternate embodiment, the present invention is a gaming apparatus comprising: a display device; an input device; a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate with the display device and the input device to: provide a display screen that is comprised of a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns; provide a given number of paylines, each payline comprising one cell from a plurality of columns on the display screen; automatically and randomly select at least two multiplier values from among a plurality of multiplier values; automatically and randomly apply the selected multiplier values at game start to a limited number of paylines in the given number of paylines to create at least two selected multiplier paylines, the limited number being no greater than ten percent (10%) of the given number of paylines, wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines automatically qualify for multiplier status, and wherein all of the paylines in the given number of paylines ate automatically activated in the main game; and display the multiplier values and the selected multiplier paylines to the user on the display screen.
In a preferred embodiment, the multiplier value and the selected multiplier payline are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start. In another preferred embodiment, the multiplier value and me selected multiplier paylines are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start. In yet another preferred embodiment, the multiplier values and the selected multiplier paylines are displayed to the user on the display screen at game start.
1 Display screen
2 Cell
3 Symbol
4 Payline
5 Multiplier
As shown in
Referring back to
Displaying the multiplier and highlighting, the multiplier payline is concurrent with the player starting the game. The player initiates the game (typically by pressing a button on the screen, or on the gaming machine console), and all reels spin. The “multiplier” payline preferably stays highlighted during the spinning of the reels and upon completion of the game (until the next game is commenced).
Note that the “multiplier” payline shown in
In
In
With regard to “credits won” (in the lower left-hand corner of the display screen in
Note that although the above examples apply the multiplier to a single payline, in an alternate embodiment, the multiplier may be applied to up to no more than ten percent (10%) of the total number of paylines. For example, in a game in which there are a total of 25 different paylines (as shown in
In an alternate embodiment, the system applies a single multiplier to a dynamically selected payline or limited number of paylines. In this embodiment, the multiplier is not dynamically selected. In yet another alternate embodiment, the system dynamically selects more than one multiplier value and applies a multiplier value to each of the paylines in the selected number of paylines; in other words, the same multiplier value is not necessarily applied to each of the selected paylines when there is more than one selected payline. In the latter embodiment, only one multiplier value is applied to each selected payline, although the multiplier values applied to the selected paylines may be different.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Apr 30 2013 | MTD Gaming, Inc. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
May 15 2013 | TESSMER, MICHAEL T | MTD GAMING, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 030525 | /0101 |
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